The use of high-intensity LEDs in vehicles is common because they are reliable, cost-effective and they produce a greater light output using less power than conventional single or dual-filament incandescent light bulbs. Additionally, LEDs require less space and have a longer useful life when compared to incandescent light bulbs.
Prior art has attempted to use LEDs that operate in combination with a vehicle flasher unit to cause a vehicle light to blink ON and OFF whenever a vehicle's right or left turn arm is activated or the emergency flasher button is depressed. A vehicle flasher unit operates with a pair of contacts similar to a conventional relay, with a single exception: one of the relay support arms is made of a bimetallic material similar to the contacts in a home thermostat. The two metals that comprise the bimetallic material have different temperature coefficient characteristics. Thus, when the contacts are heated or cooled they expand or contract at different rates, thereby causing the lights to repeatedly turn “on” and “off”, hence the term “blinkers”.
A vehicle flasher unit becomes operational when the current applied to the light bulbs also flows through a heater coil that is mounted adjacent the contacts in the flasher unit. When the turn signal and the emergency lights are turned ON, the heater coil heats the contacts, thereby causing one of the metal contacts to heat, which in turn causes it to bend. This action alternately OPENS or CLOSES the contacts of the flasher unit. Once the contacts OPEN, current stops flowing, thereby causing the lights to turn Off. The bimetallic metal cools and it bends back to its original shape, which closes the contacts in the flasher unit and the cycle repeats. This action causes the turn signal lights and the emergency lights to blink ON and OFF.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any literature or patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention.